Apparatus for delivering thin articles one by one



May 11, 1937. H, KADE 2,080,277

APPARATUS FOR DELIVERING THIN ARTICLES ONE'BY ONE Filed Jan. 25, 1936Jne/aeno'k MAM 0g 7 Patented May 11, 1937 PATENT OFFICE APPARATUS FORDELIVERING THIN ARTICLES ONE BY ONE Hermann Kade, Berlin-Frohnau,Germany, as-

signor to Edward May, London, England Application January 23, 1936,Serial No. 60,421 In Germany June 21, 1933 2 Claims.

The invention relates to an apparatus for delivering thin articles oneby one, for example paper strips folded on pieces of cardboard, whichare stored in a plurality of magazines, diagonally inclined and arrangedside by side and above each other.

The purpose of the invention is to improve the operation of an apparatusof this kind and at the same time to simplify its construction.

According to the invention, the articles are discharged, one by one, bythe operation of manually controlled release mechanisms which arearranged at the door or the front wall of the apparatus opposite thedischarge openings of the magazines. Each of said release mechanismsoperates upon an ejector so mounted at each of the magazines as to becapable of being shifted and turned with respect to said magazine forthe purpose of being brought into engagement with the first article inthe magazine and ejecting said article respectively.

Several advantages are obtained by this arrangement. On account of thefact, that the ejector is arranged in the direction of the correspondingmagazine, space is saved as compared with arrangements in which theejector is mounted at the side of the discharge opening of the magazine,or above or below the magazine.

This is of particular importance in the case of an apparatus having alarge number of magazines, for example automats, because such apparatuswould require impractical great dimensions, if the space necessary foreach individual dispensing device were not reduced to a minimum.

Furthermore, the ejector in this arrangement may be actuated from thefront of the apparatus without requiring complicated intermediate links,as the release mechanisms, for instance press buttons, are located infront of the coordinated magazine discharge openings.

Moreover, in this arrangement the ejector member may easily be connectedto the corresponding magazine itself. The ejectors and the releasemechanisms may therefore be arranged independently of each other so thatchanges in the distance between the delivery chute of the apparatus andthe various magazine discharge openings have no influence upon thedischarge process. This is of particular importance in the case of anapparatus having a large number of magazines arranged side by side andabove one another, for in this case it is hardly possible to preventconsiderable bending of the delivery chute.

As the ejectors may be swung as well as displaced longitudinally, thegenerally arc-like swinging movement of same may automatically bechanged to a straight-line movement. The arrangement preferably beingsuch, that, on operation of the release mechanism, the ejector firstmakes a longitudinal movement until it assumes an active position withregard to the first article, whereupon the swinging movement startsresulting in the discharge of the article. The idle movement thusobtained at the beginning of the discharge process allows the ejector toautomatically return in its inactive position under the influence of itsown weight, as soon as the discharge operation is completed, therebypreventing the ejector from touching the next following article in themagazine. This is of particular importance in cases of sensitivearticles, such as cardboards upon which strips of paper are folded.

In the accompanying drawing an apparatus for dispensing strips of paperwrapped about pieces of cardboard is illustrated by way of example.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 shows a broken away vertical section of the apparatus accordingto the invention, the section being taken in the central plane of one ofthe magazines,

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2--2 in Fig. 1, and

Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view, showing a modification.

In Figs 1 and 2 a portion of the casing 1 of the apparatus is showncarrying an inclined supporting plate 8 at the upper end of a curveddelivery chute 9. A front wall or door [0 forms the front portion of theapparatus. Magazines 23 in the form of U-shaped boxes are mounted inrows side by side and one above the other upon said plate 8, so as tooccupy a position inclined towards the discharge chute 9. Each of themagazines 23 serves for the reception of the articles to be ejected andcarries a weight 30 of suitable shape, preferably in the form of aroller having a groove in its periphery, for a purpose to be explainedlater. The bottom of the magazine 23 is equipped with a pair of parallelribs or rails 32 and notched at 29a at its outer end. The weight 30 aswell as the articles stored in the magazine 23 slide on the rails 32 toreduce friction. The weight 30 constantly presses the articles in themagazine 23 against a pair of checks 29 extending inwardly from the sidewalls of the magazine at its outlet end. Between these two checks 29 anda top piece 23a, arranged near the outletend of the magazine on top ofsame so far to the rear that the ejected article clears it, the deliveryaperture of the magazine 23 is formed.

Each of the magazines 23 is equipped with an ejector mechanism,consisting substantially of a U-shaped swinging, or oscillatory stirrup24 the shanks of which are provided with elongated holes 26 near theends. The side walls of the magazine 23 carry outwardly extending pins25 which engage in the elongated holes 26 of the stirrup 24. Adispensing lug 28 whose lower face 28a is curved to form a cam, issecured atthe centre of the web 21 of the ejector stirrup 24. The lengthof the lug 28, reckoned inwardly from the web 21 must be exactly equalto the thickness of the article plus the thickness of the checks 29, sothat it can engage only the first article in the magazine 23 which isheld against the checks 29 by the weight 38.

A manually controlled release mechanism for each ejector 24, 21 28comprises a knob I the shank of which is mounted in a well known manherin a sleeve I I passing through the outer wall or door II) of theapparatus. A stop 2I is mounted on the shank of the knob I to limit theoutward movement of the shank. A spring I2 surrounding the shank of thebutton'l tends to maintain the knob I in its outward or inactiveposition.

A driving memberor a one-armed lever I6 is fulcrumed at I! ma pair ofchannel sections 26 located between the door or outer wall It of theapparatus and the magazines 23. A roller I8 is mounted on the drivingmember I6 so as to be engaged by the rear end of the shank when thebutton or knob I is pushed home and the spring I2 is compressed. Bymeans of this roller I8, friction between the shank of the press buttonor knob I and the driving member or arm I6 is prevented and a reliableengagement of the two parts is obtained.

The operation of the apparatus is as follows:

Inits initial position, as shown in Fig. 1, each ejector 24, 21, 28 isheld by the pins 25 of the magazine 23 engaging the rear ends of theelongated holes 26 of the shanks which rest on the edge where thesupporting plate 8 adjoins the chute 9. The dispensing lug'28 presentsits curved lower face or cam face 23a to the free end of the drivingmember or arm I6. 7

The person who wants a certain article finds out the button or knob Ibelonging 'to this article and operates it. The shank of the button orknob I moves inwardly against the action of the spring I2 and strikesthe roller I8 on the lever I6, which now swings through the spacebetween the inner surface of the door or wall In and the magazines 23through which space the ejected articles fall on their way to thecentral delivery chute 9. The free end of the arm or lever I6 strikesthe curved portion 28a of the lug 28, mountedon the web 27 of thestirrup 24, and by, the action of the free end of the lever or arm I6against the curved portion 28a the stirrup 24 is first longitudinallypushed backwards until its web 21 is arrested by the checks 29 and theinner end of the lug 28 enters the recess 29d in the bottom of themagazine 23. Further movement of the stirrup 24 in this direction isprevented by the pins 25 engaging the front endsof the elongated holes26. The driving member or arm I6, however, is moved further, so that nowthe stirrup 24 is raised and swung about its pivots 25. The inner end ofthe lug 28 now engages below the first article in themagazine 23 andejects it. When the momentum imparted to the ejected article has becomeexhausted, the article descends toward the chute 9 and can be removed atthe lower end of the chute. Finally, the free end of the arm or lever I6releases the lug 28. By means of the pressure constantly exerted by theweight 38 upon the articles in the magazine 23, the lug 28 together withthe stirrup 2c is forced forwards away from the checks 29. This movementis limited by the rear ends of the elongated holes 26 engaging the pins25, whereupon the stirrup swings, by its own weight, into its originalposition.

If the magazine 23 is empty, the weight 30 projects into the outlet endof the magazine, and to prevent damage to the inner end of the lug 28the groove .3I is provided in the weight 36, so that, the lug 28 is ableto freely pass.

Fig. 3 shows an advantageous arrangement of the lever or arm I6. Theaxis I! of the lever I6 is here not borne in the flanges of two adjacentchannel sections 20, but in the flanges of the same channel section 20.The roller I8 then assumes a position between the flanges of thischannel section 26, and the lever l6 itself occupies a position betweenthe flanges of adjacent channel sections 20, thereby reducing the mutualdistance of the channel sections. With the lever I6 in a position ofrest, the rear sides of the channel sections form a substantially closedwall on which the discharged articles may easily slide down without anydanger of becoming jammed.

The delivering device according to the invention may be used inconnection with any known coin-freed mechanism.

What I claim is:

1. An apparatus for delivering thin articles one by one, a plurality ofmagazines slightly inclined towards the horizontal line, mounted side byside and above one another and serving for the reception of thearticles, ejector mechanisms, one for cooperating with the delivery endof each of said magazines and normally out of touch with said articles,and manually controlled release mechanisms, one for cooperation witheach of said ejector mechanisms and being adapted to be brought intocontact with said ejector mechanism to shift said ejector mechanismfirst in a longitudinal direction to bring said mechanism underneath thefirst of said articles and then to shift it in another directionessentially perpendicular to the aforementioned direction, whereby saidfirst article is ejected and whereupon said ejector mechanism isdirectly returned to its' normal position under its own weight withouttouching the second of said articles.

2. In an apparatus for delivering thin articles one by one, a pluralityof inclined magazines, mounted side by side and above one another andserving for the reception of the articles, each magazine having straightchecks at each side of the delivery end thereof, a bottom having arecess at its delivery end, a pivot pin secured on the outside of eachside wall and nearer the upper end than the lower end, a pair oflongitudinally extending rails on said bottom, a grooved weight adaptedto run on said rails and to constantly press against the articles insaid magazine, a plurality of ejector mechanisms, one for each magazine,each consisting of a U-shaped stirrup the shanks of which have elongatedholes engaging said pivot pins at the side walls of said magazine andthe web of which carries a lug at about its middle portion and a frontwall for said apparatus having secured on its inner side juxtapositionedvertically extending channel sections, a plurality of releasemechanisms, one for each ejector mechanism, each consisting of a springactuated press button shiftably arranged with its shank in said frontwall of the device in front of the delivery end of said magazines, and alever fulcrumed between said vertically extending channel sections, saidlever being adapted to be brought into contact with said lug by saidpress 10 button to shift said ejector mechanism first in a longitudinaldirection to bring said web into engagement with said checks and saidlug underneath the first of said articles in said magazine and into therecess of the bottom of said magazine, and. then to turn said ejectormechanism about its pivots to eject the first of said articles in saidmagazine by means of its lug whereby the lul will travel in a straightline upon movement of the ejector stirrup.

I-IERMANN KADE.

